FYI: New issue of Public Health Reports now online

SG Commentary on COVID-19 and Loneliness

COVID-19 and Loneliness in Elderly

Dear Public Health Service Officers,

For your information and awareness, the Office of the Surgeon General invites you to view the new issue of Public Health Reports (PHR), the official journal of the Office of the US Surgeon General and the US Public Health Service, which has recently come out online.

Below you will find the table of contents of this issue as well as the brief summaries of a few articles in it that may be of interest to you (PDFs attached).

Sincerely,

Commissioned Corps Communications

Public Health Report 2021 Issue 6 articles of interest to USPHS:

1. 1. COVID-19 Pandemic Underscores the Need to Address Social Isolation and Loneliness

Commentary by US Surgeon General discusses how COVID-19 has worsened the problem of loneliness and social isolation in US and how various public health organizations have stepped up to bring healing and connection to their communities.

1. 1. Loneliness Among US Adults Aged ≥55 Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From the COVID-19 Coping Study

This research article examines predictors of loneliness in older adults during COVID-19 and quotes US Surgeon General’s 2017 Harvard Business Review commentary where he refers to loneliness as a “growing health epidemic.” Authors’ findings can guide public health efforts to help people better cope with social isolation.

1. The Surveillance of Nonfatal and Fatal Drug Overdoses Supplement

For every overdose death, many more nonfatal overdoses occur, which carry substantial emotional and economic burden. New special issue of PHR describes lessons learned from states’ innovative surveillance activities implemented under CDC’s Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance program aimed to provide more timely and comprehensive data on nonfatal and fatal opioid overdoses.

Table of Contents:

Public Health Reports- Volume 136, Number 6 (November/December 2021)

Surgeon General’s Perspective

COVID-19 Pandemic Underscores the Need to Address Social Isolation and Loneliness

Vivek H. Murthy

In Memoriam

In Memoriam: Robert A. Rinsky, PhD

Case Study/Practice

Rapid Development, Training, and Implementation of a Remote Health Profession’s Student Volunteer Corps During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Caley A. Satterfield, Michael L. Goodman, Philip Keiser, Cara Pennel, Aleisha Elliott, Leslie Stalnaker, Ami Cotharn, and Ruth Kai

Pooling in a Pod: A Strategy for COVID-19 Testing to Facilitate a Safe Return to School

Ethan M. Berke, Lori M. Newman, Suzanna Jemsby, Bethany Hyde, Natasha Bhalla, Natalie E. Sheils, Nandini Oomman, John Reppas, Prateek Verma, and Gerard A. Cangelosi

Scoping Review

A Scoping Review of Economic Evaluations of Workplace Wellness Programs

Nilay Unsal, GracieLee Weaver, Jeremy Bray, and Daniel Bibeau

Research

Geographic Differences in Social Determinants of Health Among US-Born and Non–US-Born Hispanic/Latino Adults With Diagnosed HIV Infection, United States and Puerto Rico, 2017

Zanetta Gant, Shacara Johnson Lyons, Chan Jin, André Dailey, Ndidi Nwangwu-Ike, and Anna Satcher Johnson

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Vaccine Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intentions

Matthew Z. Dudley, Rupali J. Limaye, Daniel A. Salmon, Saad B. Omer, Sean T. O’Leary, Mallory K. Ellingson, Christine I. Spina, Sarah E. Brewer, Robert A. Bednarczyk, Fauzia Malik, Paula M. Frew, and Allison T. Chamberlain

The Relationships Between State Health Department Practitioners’ Perceptions of Organizational Supports and Evidence-Based Decision-Making Skills

Stephanie Mazzucca, Rebekah R. Jacob, Cheryl A. Valko, Marti Macchi, and Ross C. Brownson

Discordance Between Perinatal Alcohol Use Among Women and Provider Counseling for Alcohol Use: An Assessment of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System

Erika L. Thompson, Tracey E. Barnett, Dana M. Litt, Erica C. Spears, and Melissa A. Lewis

Establishing an Epidemiologic Profile of Hepatitis C Virus Infection at the Los Angeles County Jail

Nazia Qureshi, Martha Tadesse, NgocDung Tran, and Sean Henderson

Receipt of and Spending on Cessation Medication Among US Adults With Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance, 2010 and 2017

Sundar S. Shrestha, Xin Xu, Xu Wang, Stephen D. Babb, Brian S. Armour, Brian A. King, and Katrina F. Trivers

Association Between Design Elements of Concussion Laws and Reporting of Sports-Related Concussions Among US High School Athletes, 2009-2017

Jingzhen Yang, Hosea H. Harvey, Lindsay Sullivan, Lihong Huang, and R. Dawn Comstock

Loneliness Among US Adults Aged ≥55 Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From the COVID-19 Coping Study

Brendan Q. O’Shea, Jessica M. Finlay, Jasdeep Kler, Carly A. Joseph, and Lindsay C. Kobayashi

Geographic Associations Between Social Factors and SARS-CoV-2 Testing Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic, February–June 2020, Massachusetts

Scott Troppy, Grete E. Wilt, Ari Whiteman, Elaine Hallisey, Molly Crockett, J. Danielle Sharpe, Gillian Haney, Kevin Cranston, and R. Monina Klevens

Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine Among Refugees in the United States

Mengxi Zhang, Ashok Gurung, Philip Anglewicz, Parangkush Subedi, Colleen Payton, Ahmed Ali, Anisa Ibrahim, Mahri Haider, Navid Hamidi, Jacob Atem, Jenni Thang, Siqin Wang, Curi Kim, Sarah L. Kimball, Fatima Karaki, Najib Nazhat, Mouammar Abouagila, and Katherine Yun

Excess Mortality Associated With COVID-19 by Demographic Group: Evidence From Florida and Ohio

Troy Quast and Ross Andel

Law and the Public’s Health

State Paid Family and Medical Leave Laws: Growth and Gaps in Coverage

Elizabeth Tobin-Tyler, M. Barton Laws, Juliana Franco, Eric Jutkowitz, and Samantha Morton

From the Schools and Programs of Public Health

Postgraduate Employment Outcomes of Undergraduate and Graduate Public Health Students: A Scoping Review

Heather Krasna, Olga Gershuni, Kristy Sherrer, and Katarzyna Czabanowska

The Surveillance of Nonfatal and Fatal Drug Overdoses Supplement Table of Contents

Public Health Reports- Volume 136, Number 1S (November/December 2021)

 Guest Editorial

Opioid Overdose Surveillance: Improving Data to Inform Action

Brooke E. Hoots

Case Study

An Emergency Preparedness Response to Opioid-Prescribing Enforcement Actions in Maryland, 2018-2019

Jessica C. Acharya, B. Casey Lyons, Vijay Murthy, Jennifer Stanley, Carly Babcock, Kate Jackson, and Sherry Adams

Using Surveillance With Near–Real-Time Alerts During a Cluster of Overdoses From Fentanyl-Contaminated Crack Cocaine, Connecticut, June 2019

Peter Canning, Suzanne Doyon, Sarah Ali, Susan B. Logan, Aliese Alter, Katherine Hart, Raffaella Coler, Richard Kamin, Steven C. Wolf, Kristin Soto, Lauren Whiteman, and Mark Jenkins

Using Timely Overdose Data to Address a Spike in Nonfatal Overdoses and Inform a Coordinated Community-Level Response in Rhode Island, 2019

Leanne Lasher, Benjamin D. Hallowell, Laura C. Chambers, Jennifer Koziol, James McDonald, Rachael Elmaleh, Sarah Karim, and Samara Viner-Brown

Public Health Methodology

A Mixed-Methods Comparison of a National and State Opioid Overdose Surveillance Definition

Danielle M. Brathwaite, Catherine S. Wolff, Amy I. Ising, Scott K. Proescholdbell, and Anna E. Waller

Using Emergency Medical Services Data to Monitor Nonfatal Opioid Overdoses in Real Time: Development, Validation and Use of a Case Definition, Rhode Island, 2018

Benjamin D. Hallowell, Laura C. Chambers, Jason Rhodes, Melissa Basta, Samara Viner-Brown, and Leanne Lasher

Linking Ambulance Trip and Emergency Department Surveillance Data on Opioid-Related Overdose, Massachusetts, 2017

Catherine Rahilly-Tierney, Arman Altincatal, Anna Agan, Stefanie Albert, Rosa Ergas, Lauren Larochelle, and Jeffrey Yu

Linking Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Department Data to Improve Overdose Surveillance in North Carolina

Jonathan Fix, Amy I. Ising, Scott K. Proescholdbell, Dennis M. Falls, Catherine S. Wolff, Antonio R. Fernandez, and Anna E. Waller

 Research

Characterizing Opioid Overdoses Using Emergency Medical Services Data: A Case Definition Algorithm Enhanced by Machine Learning

Josie J. Sivaraman, Scott K. Proescholdbell, David Ezzell, and Meghan E. Shanahan

Emergency Medical Services and Syndromic Surveillance: A Comparison With Traditional Surveillance and Effects on Timeliness

Peter J. Rock, Dana Quesinberry, Michael D. Singleton, and Svetla Slavova

Improvements in Toxicology Testing to Identify Fentanyl Analogs and Other Novel Synthetic Opioids in Fatal Drug Overdoses, Connecticut, January 2016–June 2019

Heather A. Clinton, Shobha Thangada, James R. Gill, Amy Mirizzi, and Susan B. Logan

Biosurveillance of Drug Overdoses and Substance Misuse Treated in Selected Emergency Departments in Minnesota, 2017-2020

Terra Wiens, Elisabeth Bilden, Stefan Saravia, Jason Peterson, Matthew Wogen, Kaila Hanson, Roon Makhtal, Nate Wright, Jon Roesler, and Ruth Lynfield